The Jig is Up
I hate to say it, but Google, you had it coming.
Google managed to stifle their competition and bring out their true colors/insecurities as a leading technology company. They have accumulated way too much monopoly power over the years, which eventually became a form of corruption across multiple industries. The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 says that “competing individuals or businesses can’t fix prices, divide markets, or attempt to rig bids.”
Why does Google want to destroy its competition and how is this healthy by any means?
Not to mention, Google paid Apple billions of dollars to make them their predominant search engine. This is the epitome of unfair business practices, and if I were Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yandex or any other competing search engine, I, too, would be livid and take legal action.
It’s mind boggling that normal, everyday businesses revolve around 4 companies: Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon. They hold central positions on the web and have acquired multiple companies along the way, making the core 4 even stronger and more likely to deter other companies from entering the market.
But imagine all the creativity that “could have been” had the core 4 not been dominant forces in their respective industries? Imagine all the brands, search engines, and product options that consumers would be able to choose from on their devices. This isn’t to say that I can’t use DuckDuckGo today, but it is not the “default” search engine and would be out of place for me to use for school and work purposes.
My entire internet life revolves around Google at this point.
There’s the other side of me who read the Wall Street Journal article on the Google Antitrust case and thought, “Google is damned if they become successful and damned if they don’t.” I don’t know much about competition law but I did not realize the severity of being “too powerful” in an industry, and the crime attached to being the best in your field. It’s a blessing and a curse for tech companies.
As a marketer, I am curious to see what will happen with the marketing landscape in the event Google loses the lawsuit. Google has made it easy to aggregate data and monitor sales with robust tools like Google Analytics, Google PageSpeed Insights, and Google Ad Manager. If Google gets broken up, it may force marketers and advertisers to reshape their efforts and create scenario plans. Albeit, it may take years before the case winds their way through court, but if I were a leading CMO I would act now and have alternative plans in place.
On the other hand, if Google had more competition it would create cheaper services for both marketers and consumers. It’s unclear whether my forecast will be true, but ad-tech companies could leverage more opportunities if more search engines were prominent.
The articles I’ve read on the Google Antitrust lawsuit mention how this was a “long time coming.” I’m probably just blind to the red flags on antitrust law, but since the digital age is relatively new for everyone, may this lawsuit be a lesson for our leading tech companies and may competitors seek justice and receive fair advantages as they continue their pursuits.
